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Control of the United States Senate is at stake in the 2016 elections. Out of 34 senate races nationally, the outcome could be decided by just several swing states and a few key constituencies. But there is another deciding factor in this year’s race for the senate: money.

America’s transportation system is dangerously out of step with the nation’s climate goals, according to a new report written by Frontier Group and released by Environment America Research & Policy Center.

More questions continue to be raised about the Wells Fargo scandal. When did it really start- 2013, 2011 or 2005? What did execs know and when did they know it? How many frontline employees were fired because they complained as whistleblowers? Does setting up a fake account constitute criminal identity theft? Should deposed chairman and CEO John Stumpf go to jail? If the culture was pure, how did a frontline worker get "addicted to (drinking) hand sanitizer? Should he pay back more bonus compensation? Here's a flyaround of some of what's going on. By the way, did you know that even the Better Business Bureau has thrown Wells out?

On Monday, October 24, U.S. PIRG Education Fund will release Outside Influence: Out-of-State Money in the 2016 Senate Elections, a report examining out-of-state money funneled into the 2016 senate races. Findings highlight the share of money that candidates, PACs, super PACs, and party committees have raised from out-of-state, with a focus on money in swing elections which could decide party control of the Senate.

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On Tuesday, the Senate failed to pass a short-term budget bill to keep the government running due to opposition over a secret-money rider and a lack of federal funding to address the Flint water crisis. The proposed secret-money rider would prohibit the SEC from strengthening corporate disclosure laws by requiring transparency of secret political spending.

On Monday, 37 organizations signed an open letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, urging McConnell to reject any poison pill language in budget legislation that would prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission from strengthening corporate disclosure laws by requiring transparency of secret political spending. A proposed secret-money rider is a sticking point in Senate budget negotiations, as lawmakers debate a continuing resolution which must pass by the end of September to keep the government open.

Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced H.R. 6126, the Corporate Transparency and Accountability (CTA) Act which addresses rampant corporate tax evasion. The bill will require multinational corporations to provide the Securities and Exchange Commission with income and tax information on a country-by-country basis, and will make that offshore financial information available to the public.

In the wake of the recently-announced Yahoo data breach -- apparently the largest security breach ever, exposing the personal information of 500 million consumers -- PIRG offers consumer tips, demands that Yahoo provide free security freezes to affected consumers who could be at risk of "phishing" schemes to commit fraud on existing accounts or open new fraudulent accounts. We also ask: Why did it take Yahoo two years to notify the public?

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Imagine two futures for the transportation system of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. In one, the air is cleaner. It is more convenient to use an improved public transit system ad to drive less, so most households only own one car. There are fewer traffic jams because fewer people travel via automobile. There are more sidewalks and bike lanes, so many people walk or bike to their jobs, schools, and other destinations. People feel a little richer with extra money in their pocket, due to less spending on gasoline, parking, and auto maintenance.

For 30 years, U.S. PIRG Education Fund has conducted an annual survey of toy safety, which has led to an estimated 150 recalls and other regulatory actions over the years, and has helped educate the public and policymakers on the need for continued action to protect the health and wellbeing of children.

In response to a "Request for Information" from the U.S. Treasury Department, last week U.S. PIRG and the Center for Digital Democracy filed a detailed comment recommending that regulators take a close look at the activities of a new "Big Data" financial sector of online marketplace lenders, which includes so-called "peer-to-peer" lenders. While the sector has potential to be innovative and provide lower-cost loans to consumers, and to improve financial opportunity for underserved consumers, there are risks in "light-touch" regulation.

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The CFPB is making a good public consumer complaint database better. In 2015, the CFPB added optional consumer narratives, or stories, to its public consumer complaint database, giving other consumers, researchers and even other firms a new way to help study complaint patterns. Now, it will give consumers a chance to “rate the company’s handling of his or her complaint on a one-to-five scale and provide a narrative description in support of the rating.”

Walmart announced that it will ask suppliers to remove eight chemicals of concern, including formaldehyde, a known carcinogen, from household goods. This is an important step in the right direction, and yet Walmart and other large corporations still can do more.

Earlier today, Wendy’s announced a commitment to serve chicken from farms that do not misuse antibiotics. Wendy’s says they will meet that pledge in 2017. Public Health Program Director Steve Blackledge offers a few thoughts on this progress.

This week, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau turns five years old! As part of our efforts to tell more people about the CFPB, we're cross-posting this video blog and comments written by Zixta Q. Martinez of the CFPB (check out the infographic at the end, too!).

On Tuesday, July 19th U.S. PIRG and its state partners are holding coordinated actions to engage more health professionals in challenging major restaurant chains to push the meat industry away from misusing antibiotics. On this day, in front of hospitals nationwide, there will be volunteers asking doctors and nurses to sign onto a letter of support and participate in a photo petition that urges more major restaurants like KFC to establish good antibiotics policies.